Scuba
Diving Internships
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Koh
Tao Thailand; Diving
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Resort
Accommodation
Included
in your scuba diving internship
is 2 months accommodation.
It's important
that you feel comfortable for the
duration of your gap year Divemaster
internship - we'll arrange a pleasant
fan room within close walking distance
of the dive shop, on Sairee Beach,
Koh Tao.
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For
dive internship accommodation during
2008-2009 we're using a guesthouse
close to the DJL Diving.
Rooms are fan cooled,
with double bed, TV [with western
channels], fridge & hot showers.
The reason we chose to use this guesthouse
is because there's a nice social
feel to the place - there's a joint
balcony / terrace where everyone
can hang out at the end of the day.
To walk to DJL takes about 3 minutes.
There's a ' convinience mini-mart'
on-site, plus many shops, restaurants
/ bars close by. Sairee Beach is
just a couple of hundred metres away.
Everyone's been pretty happy staying
there. We can provide alternative
accommodation if
you prefer. |
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PADI Divemaster Internships:
Koh Tao, Thailand
Background
If you've never
visited Koh
Tao, Thailand, here's
a bit of background information
about the island.
Koh
Tao is situated
in the sheltered Gulf of Thailand,
a little north of the larger islands
of Koh Samui & Koh Phangan. The
sheltered position means we're
able to dive for all 12 months
of the year, making it an excellent
location to spend a gap
year / scuba diving internship.
The island is
located 70 km out from the mainland,
and is accessible by ferry from
Chumphon to the north-east & Samui
to the south. If you want to find
out the best ways to travel to
Koh Tao see our Koh
Tao Info page.
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Koh
Tao, Thailand has the perfect balance
- the natural beauty of living on
a small tropical island, joined with
an organised infrastructure.
Tourism only reached
Koh Tao over the last 10 -15 years,
so Koh Tao still retains a rustic
island charm [and is not over-developed
unlike other parts of Thailand].
The island infrastructure
is good - we have decent transport,
accommodation,
shops and banking. There are plenty
of ATMs & on-island medical services
are decent. When it comes to food
you're spoilt for choice, from
Thai restaurants serving up tasty
Thai dishes, to European bakeries,
Italian, Mexican, Indian and other
international cuisine - whatever
you want, you can get it here!
The level of progress
is just about right, it's a fantastic
place to stay, with all the comforts
of home. |
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Most development
has been restricted to three main
areas of the island.
The pier where
you arrive on Koh
Tao is called
'Mae Haad'. Here you'll find many
shops, travel/tour agents, banks
and a number of bars & restaurants.
Mae Haad is essentially the 'town
centre' of Koh Tao.
To the south is
'Chalok Ban Khao' - this a resort
area lining a beach on the southern
coast of Koh Tao. Many dive
resorts,
restaurants etc.
DJL
Diving is
located on Koh
Tao's longest stretch
of sand - Sairee Beach. Most visitors
end up staying somewhere on Sairee
Beach - there are many bungalows,
restaurants & beach bars, internet
cafe's, mini-marts and a few shops
- everything you need!
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The
east coast of Koh Tao remains very
quiet, primarily due to the hills
lining the centre of the island which
form a physical barrier making it
more difficult to drive to the East!
Just off the north-west
coast of Koh
Tao is Nang Yuan island
- 3 small islands joined by a sand
bar. South of Koh
Tao is another
small rockly island, named 'Shark
Island' as it resembles a shark's
fin.
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In the Gulf of
Thailand we have two prevailing
winds. Through Spring and Summer
the prevailing wind blows from
the South-West [called the South
West Monsoon]. During Autumn/Winter
the wind switches and comes from
the North East [north-east monsoon].
Because Koh
Tao has great dive sites situated on
both sides of the island, no matter
which way the wind is blowing,
we can always dive on the sheltered
leaward side.
Between the
two monsoons we get short periods
with zero wind - the entire Gulf
of Thailand goes completely flat,
which is primetime for scuba
diving.
It's difficult to predict when
these calm periods will occur [and
how long they'll last]. Even when
the wind is blowing, wave heights
generally remain small due to the
sheltered position in the Gulf
of Thailand.
This means
that we can scuba
dive all year
round, so whenever you want to
start your scuba
diving internship is ok!
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In
Koh Tao we're lucky as many of our
dive sites lie just off the island.
This means we have short journey
times when we head out diving. Further
out we have isolated pinnacles that
don't break the surface - that's
where we see our bigger fish species.
If you want to read more and see
photo's of the diving check out our Koh
Tao Thailand scuba dive sites page.
There are also several
deep wreck
diving sites just off
Koh Tao - see our Koh
Tao wreck / deep diving archive to
find out more.
The marine life
you'll experience diving on the coral
reefs surrounding Koh
Tao is amazing.
Colorful reef fish, turtles, barracuda,
squid & cuttle fish and sharks, Koh
Tao, Thailand has it all.
There's also a good
chance of seeing the biggest fish
in the sea - whale shark season occurs
during April / May and again in October. |
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There
are many medical clinics on Koh Tao,
including one big one, which has
a recompression chamber for treatment
of diving specific injuries [which
are very rare]. The standard
of healthcare in Thailand is high.
By far the biggest
cause of accidents on Koh Tao is
motorbikes. Here it is:
[little or no experience
riding bikes]
+
[alcohol]
=
[likely accident]
Our advice is this
- the island is small so you can
get around easily by walking, or
if you're lazy by grabbing a taxi.
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Koh
Tao Thailand gets a steady flow of visitors
year round. We experience busy
spells during typical holiday seasons
- summer, Christmas & Easter.
The famous 'Full
Moon Party' over on neighbouring
Koh Phangan has a big effect on
Koh Tao. Each month many travellers
collect on Koh Phangan, to drink
buckets of alcohol and party on
the beach.
Immediately after,
many hung-over people covered in
fluorescent body paint, make the
crossing over to Koh Tao, wanting
to learn
to scuba dive! As a result,
there's normally a bit of a rush
during the week following each
Full Moon Party.
You should probably
try to get to at least one full
moon party for the 'cultural experience'!
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Koh
Tao, Thailand Scuba Diving
News |
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Wreck Diving Expedition, Tech Liveaboard, September 2008
Tech wreck expedition with Davy Jones Locker [PADI 5* Gold Palm Resort] & Worldwide Dive & Sail
Date: 7 - 13th September 2008
Destination: Southern Gulf of Thailand [departing...
5 metre whale shark at the Chumphon Pinnacles diving site
This morning, divers from DJL Diving Koh Tao got to dive with a 5 metre long whale shark at the Chumphon Pinnacles.
On the boat to enjoy the experience was Christy, making the ...
DJL Diving Team Identifies WW2 Japanese Minelayer HIJMS Hatsutaka
Davy Jones Locker [PADI 5* Gold Palm Resort, BSAC Centre of Excellence]
Written by Tim Lawrence, Gary Bain & Darius Moazzami
Introduction
Throughout the Second World War, th...
James completes his IDC to qualify as a PADI Diving Instructor
Working as a professional Dive Instructor can be one of the most rewarding and challenging jobs a person can have. In addition to the inherent joys of introducing others to an e...
Whale Shark encounter diving at the Chumphon Pinnacles
When we head out for our late afternoon dives on the RIB, being the only boat at the dive site we expect surrounded by sharks, but yesterday afternoon we got a special treat at ...
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Check
out the DJL Diving Promo Movie;
See footage of Koh Tao Thailand
diving. |
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 e-interview with a Previous Divemaster Internship Trainee:
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Ex Divemaster Intern James shares his
gap Divemaster internship experiences from Koh Tao:
Name |
James Crossley |
Age |
21 |
Nationality |
UK |
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What were you doing before you joined the PADI Divemaster internship in Koh Tao? |
Before going to Koh Tao i was working at Currys [electrical appliance store] generally wishing i was dead. After hearing about the course from a friend i started 2 weeks later. |
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What's your opinion of Koh Tao? Do you think it's a good place to take a Divemaster internship? |
| Koh Tao island itself is like paradise on earth. If you dont like cheap alcohol, cheap food and beautiful surroundings dont bother going. Everyone was very friendly and i felt i made some friends for life in my time out there. |
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What was the best thing you saw underwater during your diving internship? |
The best thing i saw underwater was a topless snorkler with big ***s. Aquatically speakin i was delighted to see a turtle and my first experience with a shark was something i will never forget.
I also enjoyed seein mitch get bitten on the ear by a big wrasse [a very small fish]. I didnt expect it to make him cry but it was very funny. I was also lucky enough to be let on a wreck dive. Seein a huge ship at 45m was exillarating and is something that i would love to do in the future.
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Which part of the Divemaster internship did you find trickiest? |
Academics has never been my strong point so i expected this to be the worse part of the course.
However, the instructors were always on hand to help out and give various lectures which was really handy. It didnt seem to be much of a chore to revise about something that you enjoy in the surroundings you are in.
Learning all those new formula and laws was pretty hard. However i passed thanks to some hard graft from Alex, who took his own personal time to help out.
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Throughout your time on the dive internship, what was your most memorable dive experience? |
The deep wreck diving was an amazing experience.
The wrecks were very eerie and looked almost haunted. The dives i did were like no other i did on the island.
The conditions bought a whole new aspect on diving for me. The visibility was only a couple of metres but you still appreciate the size of the wreck. It was also quite weird dealing with narcosis. I found myself giggling at a net full of fish!!!
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How did you find the PADI Divemaster swims? |
The swims went well i thought. A good pair of swims was essential.
However i did think that alexs lap counting was a bit off. I still think i swam more than necessary.
The only advice i can give here is to swim as much as possible between dives and dont turn up hungover. I attended the gym for at least an hour a day to prepare [incase you're wondering, he didn't]!
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Was taking the Divemaster Internship a productive experience? |
The internship i believe has given me higher confidence when dealing with people. Its also given my life a new purpose, to become a dive instructor.
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Which was your favourite scuba diving site? |
My favourite dive site was a toss up between Japanese Gardens, with its abundance of little fish and interesting rocks, and chumphon pinnacle where there were plenty of sharks, rays, eels, the occasional octopus and beautiful colourful corals.
However a highlight for me was seeing a turtle at a site called 'The Lighthouse'.
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What did you think of the underwater equipment exchange? |
The underwater equipment exchange was fine. I felt very safe with dive god alex watching over me. However mitchs fins were a little small. He is only size 7 and i am an 11. That was a little uncomfortable but in general it was ok.
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How did you find giving dive briefings as part of your Divemaster course? |
Dive briefings made me a little nervous at first as i didnt want to get anything wrong. After a few i felt more comfortable. I recieved feedback from the instructors all the time so by the end they became quite natural to me.
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Tell us about your sailing liveaboard adventure to the Chumphon Marine reserve: |
The liveaboard was fantastic.
The cleanest toilets i came across whilst on the island! We dived some very remote sites that are dived very rarely so very unspoilt.
We also got to see some more of the remote islands of Thailand, including the one where jurassic park was filmed apparentely. The liveaboard was surprisingly comfortable and it was a great experience to sleep under the stars after the most delicious meals ever.
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Once you graduated from the Divemaster internship, did you enjoy guiding certified divers? |
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Leading the dives was briliiant as it gave me a real sense of responsibility. It was also good to be able to lead to where ever i wanted to go instead of having to follow. I also felt very proud when finding a fish of interest to show a group. |
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What will be your next diving adventure? |
My next dive adventure, financially allowing, will be the tec diving courses offered by DJL.
I found myself immensely envious when all the 'tec divers' went off for a wreck dive to ships that hadnt even been found before. When they came back looking very smug with themselves i knew i wanted to be a part of there elite group.
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Any advice for anyone considering taking a Divemaster internship with DJL Diving? |
The only advice i can give is - DO IT. Its without doubt the best 3 months of my life.
Something new and challenging each day in an environment you have to experience to believe.
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So what are your plans now? |
I now have 1 sole purpose in my life.
Save save save before i can go back to DJL and begin new and even more extreme courses. The diving industry is definitely the life for me and DJL hold the big fat shiny key i need to unlock it.
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